1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to oral hygienic implements, and in particular to tongue conditioners.
2. The Prior Art
Implements for tongue conditioning, and more particularly tongue cleaning, although not as commonly used or advertised as toothbrushes, are nevertheless well known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,218,072 and 2,583,750 to Runnels, U.S. Design Pat. No. 267,508 to Gupta, U.S. Design Pat. No. 324,912 to Hansen, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 367,707 to Baker. Although the known tongue cleaners are generally effective, they require vigorous manual action to achieve the desired results. Such vigorous manual action can cause some users to gag, which makes them less likely to continue using these implements in a manner which is effective, or indeed to use them again at all.
As such, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tongue conditioning implement which provides better conditioning action (e.g., cleaning) with less effort than the tongue conditioners known to the prior art, and which lessens any tendency of the user to gag.